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A True Sixth Sense?

Mar. 4, 2013|340 views

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In grade
school, we learned about the five senses. Taste, smell, hearing, sight and
touch are familiar to us all. After all, we use them every day. Those of you
who paid attention in high school biology may even remember some of the details
about the nerves and structures that allow us to gather detailed information
about the world and make sense of it in the brain.

Occasionally,
we hear about a mysterious “sixth sense;” a sort of heightened intuition, or a
supernatural ability to perceive information beyond the reach of the ordinary
senses. Of course, most credible scientists dismiss the existence of these
elusive “extrasensory” abilities.

But did you
know that serious scientists have discovered an authentic candidate for a
previously unknown sixth sense? It’s true. This sense has nothing to do with
gazing into a crystal ball. But it’s definitely mysterious. And a little
spooky.

It all began
with birds. Scientists have wondered for decades how birds are able to navigate
across vast distances during annual migrations. It seemed likely that they rely
on senses other than the conventional ones to fly thousands of miles, year
after year, from point A to point B, without fail. The Earth’s magnetic field
lines seemed a possible candidate. Perhaps these amazing creatures are able to
perceive magnetic fields, enabling them to fly true even in the dark, or under
heavy cloud cover.

And that’s
exactly what they do. They sense the Earth’s magnetic field. But how? By using
an ancient type of protein that’s found in virtually all plants and animals: a
cryptochrome.